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2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?
originally posted by: odzeandennz
The thing about aliens... It's never aliens
originally posted by: Riffrafter
I know that at least one group of Harvard astronomers believe it is an alien probe.
It was an interesting object anyway.
Interstellar object 'Oumuamua - that strange, cigar-shaped chunk of rock from somewhere a vast distance beyond the Solar System - is, new research has concluded, absolutely, positively not an alien spaceship.
OK, well, probably not. We can't tell for sure without closely examining the thing, and it's passed beyond our reach now. But, after carefully reviewing all our observations of the object, the international team of 'Oumuamua scientists has concluded that everything we know about it is consistent with a natural origin.
I think this kind of binary thinking is a problem, and I'm not the only one...
originally posted by: Riffrafter
We know it's not a comet, so...
One takeaway for a number of astronomers is that space rocks don’t necessarily fit into one of two wholly separate categories. “There’s much more of a gradation between what’s a comet and what’s an asteroid,” said Michele Bannister, an astronomer at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. “I feel like we’re fighting over an unnecessary binary here.”
Right, it's never aliens...until it is.
originally posted by: odzeandennz
The thing about aliens... It's never aliens
originally posted by: Riffrafter
I saw an article today that mentioned Oumuamua in passing and it got me wondering.
Has there ever been any satisfactory scientific explanations for this large interstellar traveler? We know it's not a comet, so...
1 - Where did it come from? It simply showed up one day and blew through our solar system, then left - quickly.
2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?
I know that at least one group of Harvard astronomers believe it is an alien probe.
Harvard scientists: Strange asteroid could be an alien 'probe'
Does anyone have any thoughts or new/better information??
It intrigues the hell out of me...
originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Riffrafter
2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?
It didn't increase its speed. It just didn't slow down quite as much as it should have. The effect was very slight and has been attributed to outgassing.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Riffrafter
2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?
It didn't increase its speed. It just didn't slow down quite as much as it should have. The effect was very slight and has been attributed to outgassing.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”
So you post a link that says this:
originally posted by: jamespond
Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link;
www.nasa.gov...
Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”
“This additional subtle force on ′Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface,” said Farnocchia.
originally posted by: Riffrafter
Also, if it's not a comet - what exactly is outgassing? Do asteroids outgas at all? It has been described as a flat, odd shaped *asteroid* by astronomers who aren't signing on with the Harvard astrophysicists. Don't shoot me - I'm only the messenger in this case, but your thoughts are appreciated as I know you're more knowledgeable than the "average bear" in these matters.
originally posted by: Arbitrageur
So you post a link that says this:
originally posted by: jamespond
Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link;
www.nasa.gov...
Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”
“This additional subtle force on ′Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface,” said Farnocchia.
And then you say "Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link"
Have you had your morning coffee yet?
By the way, air is more or less invisible (if there's no smog or dust in it), so just because you can't see a gas doesn't mean it's not there. So the part you quoted just means there wasn't enough particulate in the outgassing to make it visible, it doesn't mean there's no outgassing.
Did they? Olivier R. Hainaut of ESO (among other authors of this study) seems to think it was outgassing.
Ok well you should probably write into the European Southern Observatory and let them know they got it wrong.
Exploring a variety of possible explanations for the detected non-gravitational acceleration, we find outgassing to be the most physically plausible explanation, although with some caveats. A thermal outgassing model, which treatsʻOumuamua like a common cometary nucleus, creates a non-gravitational force proportional tor–2in the range of distances covered by our observations.
The lack of observed dust lifted from the object by the hypothesized cometary activity can be explained by an atypical dust grain size distribution that is devoid of small grains, a low dust-to-ice ratio or surface evolution from its long journey. However, these important aspects of ʻOumuamua’s physical nature cannot be resolved conclusively with the existing observations.